


O Sleep

by Jh3richo



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-04
Updated: 2019-10-04
Packaged: 2020-12-01 20:22:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20888438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jh3richo/pseuds/Jh3richo
Summary: He could do this. He just had to open the door. He had faced worse things. He had lost an eye and barely flinched. He could open a door. He feared nothing. No one. Not even the baby he could hear wailing on the other side.Reinhardt Wilhelm was not afraid of a baby.





	O Sleep

Nervous wasn't an emotion well known to Reinhardt Wilhelm.

He feared nothing, feared no one, laughed in the face of danger and smiled through pain no matter what.

But standing outside the hospital room, bouquet in hand, he felt a lump rising from his stomach and into his chest. It sat heavy in the center of his sternum and caused his fingers and toes to tingle in sudden adrenaline. Pressing his mouth into a firm line, Reinhardt rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck.

He could do this. He just had to open the door. He had faced worse things. He had lost an eye and barely flinched. He could open a _door._ He feared nothing. No one. Not even the baby he could hear wailing on the other side. 

Reinhardt Wilhelm was _not_ afraid of a _baby._

He confidently raised his fist to knock but hesitated. Chewing the inside of his cheek, Reinhardt looked from the door to his hand and couldn't help but grimace at how large it seemed. How large he knew it was. How he had used that very hand to do nothing but destroy and hurt. How he had used that hand to kill--

The door opened without his touch and he took a step back, instinctively lifting the flowers in his other hand before him as if they would shield him. Sam looked from the bouquet to Reinhardt and cracked a tired smile. "It's good to see you!" He said while extending his hand.

Reinhardt took the offered hand and shook it firmly, forcing himself to snap back into the confidence he oozed normally. "It's good to see you too! How's she holding up in there?"

Sam chortled and rubbed at his drooping eyes. "About as well as can be expected. Can't get the little bugger to quit screaming and about ready to start screaming herself. I'm actually glad you're here, I need to go get something to eat but don't want to leave them. I figure you'll be visiting for a bit, but mind sticking around a little longer? At least until I get back."

"Of course! Take your time, a nap even! I'll be fine!"

He was in fact, not at all fine. Upon entering the hospital room, Reinhardt couldn't stop his face from freezing into a grimace at the shrill cries of the baby. He was still hidden in the doorway, unnoticed by Ana as she frantically attempted rocking the infant to peace. 

The weight in his chest was back and had started to move into his throat. It made his heart pound and his head feel light, hands taking to trembling around the flowers and about ready to drop them. 

He couldn't do this. He wasn't made for something as small and fragile as a baby. He was made to destroy, to kill. What if he dropped her? What if he accidentally crushed the child in his hulking hands? What if he hurt both of them? What if--

"Sam? Is that you?"

"No!" Reinhardt replied a little to forcefully, tensing as he made himself step into view. "Just me!" He relaxed ever so slightly upon meeting Ana's eyes. They were always so beautiful, no matter how stern or, in this case, how tired. They always relaxed him. "Hello there."

The wails faded for a moment as he took in the sight of the revered captain, a mess among her sheets and sitting slumped against a number of pillows. Seeing her without her uniform, without her cloak and without her rifle, was like seeing her naked. Reinhardt dared to think that he had never seen her so vulnerable, so small and touchable. It was a far cry from her usual appearance, one that he had only seen crack very few times. Only for him.

She looked exhausted, her face gaunt and plagued with dark shadows. Her long hair had never looked so tangled, her shoulders never sagged so low. The smile Ana gave him was frail and her eyes were lined with frustrated tears, and yet she was still the most breathtaking woman Reinhardt had ever had to privilege of meeting.

"Hello there yourself." Ana spoke with a voice made hoarse from crying. She craned her neck down to uselessly shush the swaddled baby in her arms for a moment before looking up and nodding to the flowers. "Those for me?"

"Well, you might have to share with the other lovely lady of the hour." Reinhardt moved closer to sit the flowers on a cart of other gifts and then walked around the bed to sit in an offered chair. "What is her name?"

"Fareeha. Would you like to hold her?"

Reinhardt's mouth went dry. No, no he did not. He couldn't possibly.

But he couldn't possibly deny Ana more than he couldn't possibly hold her child.

"Maybe you can get her to stop crying." The woman weakly chuckled as she held the baby out to him.

"I've never held a baby before." He blurted out before he even raised his hands.

"You'll be fine, Reinhardt. It's easy. Just mind her head-"

"Ana." He met her eyes again and swallowed the lump in his throat. Her eyes, deep and dark and full of patience for him. Always for him.

Ana sat forward, her posture straightening and her brows narrowing. But her eyes remained as calming as ever, her lips sliding into an easy smile. She was exhausted, far past her limits, but she was still willing to go farther just to help him. Just for him. "Breathe, Reinhardt, and hold out your hands. Like that, yes. Hold her close, let her feel your warmth."

As the child slipped carefully into his grasp, Ana kept her hands in his own and let him cradle both of them. Reinhardt kept his gaze on the baby, taking in the way her tiny face would scrunch in displeasure and how her small chest would contract with each squeal. The lump in his throat was sliding back into his chest as he studied the child more carefully. Her tiny nose, her unblemished skin, her wispy hair, her fragile body. His heart bloomed warmth as his smile went from ear to ear, the warmth rushing into his face and resting in his eyes with a single thought.

"She's beautiful." Reinhardt whispered. He pulled her further into his arms and closer to his chest, marveling at how small she was compared to him. "You're so tiny." He spoke now to the child, a laugh bubbling forth as he did so. "But already so mighty. A little warrior you are, aren't you? My little warrior, my little Fareeha."

The infant's cries waned for a moment, her head turning towards the sound of his voice. "Keep talking." Ana breathed in awe.

"Fareeha." Reinhardt repeated, getting a feel for how the name rolled off his tongue. The weeping slowed each time. "Fareeha, Fareeha, Fareeha. A beautiful name for a beautiful little lady. But oh no, a lady? Or a warrior? I think you'd wear both with pride. Proud like your mother." Tiny eyes opened to stare into his own, and Reinhardt felt like he had been struck through the chest. "Oh now," He whispered, "you've received another gift from your mother, haven't you? Such beautiful eyes you have, _mein_ _Bärchen._ And they're even more beautiful without the tears."

They stared back at one another for a long moment. Fareeha watched him carefully, her eyes never leaving his own and her little mouth half-open in wonder. Reinhardt cradled her against his broad chest and wrapped her in his muscled arms, shielding her from the outside world and blinking away hot tears. "I promise I'll do everything to keep those tears away. I'll do whatever it takes. You'll only know happiness and smiles, my sweet girl. I'll be here for you, always."

He held Fareeha for what felt like hours, whispering soft words of comfort and promises of safety as the baby gradually drifted off to sleep. Reinhardt only sat up straight when a nurse entered to return the little girl to the hospital nursery. As she was whisked away, a longing filled his chest but he remained ever smiling. 

Beside him, Ana had also fallen asleep. She lay on her side facing him, cuddled with a pillow and snoring softly. Reinhardt scooted his chair closer to better stroke at her hair, brushing it out of her face and behind an ear. "You'll make a magnificent mother." He told her quietly, "And I promise you the same things I promise your daughter. I'll protect you with my life so that you can continue to brighten hers. She needs you more than anyone else now, and I'll do anything to make sure you can be there for her."

He wasn't ready for one of her eyes to crack open and the small smile she gave him. Reinhardt felt his ears flush red hot and stilled his hand in her hair, his tongue heavy in his mouth. Ana's eye slid shut and she sighed out, "I'm glad we both have you, Reinhardt. Such a gentleman, so sweet and honest." Her hand came up to rest atop his own and she moved to have him continue to pet at her head. "Stay a little longer?"

"Of course." Anything for her.

"Talk to me until I fall asleep?"

"Always." For her.


End file.
